But now Britain, having concentrated authority over civil air transport in a separate ministry wholly dominated by an air force steeped in the Douhet doctrine, had abandoned private enterprise, and, following the drift toward state ownership, had put commercial aviation under government control. The effect of this had been clearly set forth in the so-called “Cadman Report,” the Report of the British Committee of Inquiry into Civil Aviation, published in March, 1938, which stated unequivocally that, except on Empire routes, that country was backward in civil air transport. This statement, of course, took cognizance of the rapid progress in America where, following the development of the air-cooled engine, the controllable-pitch propeller, the Boeing and Douglas transports, the Sikorsky boats, and Lindbergh’s epic flight, commercial aviation had flourished. These products now became Tom Hamilton’s stock in trade and he peddled them most successfully to independent customers whose decisions were dictated by economic considerations rather than those of national prestige. When Tom visited Hartford, we often gathered at the close of a business day before the fireplace in our basement recreation room. Its walls were hung with Indian curios and colored prints of Indian warriors, while the corner posts of the fireplace nook boasted accurate replicas of Alaskan totem poles carved under Tom’s supervision and decorated by him. Both of us having been raised in the Pacific Northwest, at a time when pioneers still lived to recount tales of their many enterprises, we had absorbed some of their spirit.